


What If?

by mulderette



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-08-29 19:49:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8503096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mulderette/pseuds/mulderette
Summary: What if things had gone differently for Callen at the end of Crazy Train?  His situation helps Kensi to see things differently.  Spoilers for that episode.





	1. Chapter 1

 

It happened quicker than Callen could have imagined. One minute, he and Sam were taking the cartel guys down and he'd thought everything was fine. But then, before Callen even had a chance to climb back onboard the boat, everything went to hell. Seemingly out of nowhere, the shark attacked. He felt a severe, crushing pressure in the upper left side of his abdomen and he could feel the sharp teeth sinking into him. "Sam, help!" he managed to scream, right before he was pulled underneath the water.

xxxxx

"G!" While Sam was distracted, the cartel boss went for his gun and Sam quickly shot him. He then rushed to the opposite side of the vessel and dove into the water, without hesitation, to go after his partner. Callen was beneath the surface, in the direct path of what looked to be another attack by the shark. Sam punched the shark as hard as he could in the gills, nose and eyes and it finally turned and swam off. Sam then reached for his partner and brought him up to the surface. He then managed to get him aboard the boat as Callen choked and spit up the water he had swallowed.

Sam quickly grabbed the sat phone he was carrying, which luckily was waterproof, and called into Ops. "Hey Eric, I need emergency medical at this location. Whatever way they can get here fastest. G's been bitten by a shark." He clicked off the phone and knelt down by his partner then carefully rolled his shirt up away from the wound. What he saw didn't look good. "Damn, G, that looks nasty," he said to himself as he began to put pressure on the wound which was bleeding copiously. He then spoke louder. "Hey, G? Are you with me? Can you open your eyes?"

Callen obediently forced his eyes open and looked up at his partner. His eyes were glazed and he was obviously in tremendous pain. "Remember…remember when I asked you if you'd rather be eaten alive by a shark or a giant squid?" Callen asked, trying to get over the sensation that everything was spinning. He felt like he was on some kind of crazy merry go round.

"Shh…don't try to talk, G."

"I'd definitely pick the squid. I think you can guess why." He was freezing and couldn't seem to stop shivering. "Hey Sam?"

"I told you not to talk, buddy. You need to save your strength."

"Are…are my legs still there?" Callen asked, looking anxiously up at his partner.

"What?" Sam asked in confusion. "Yeah G…your legs are still there…Why? Can't you feel them?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I can feel them, but I was just wondering. I'm really cold, Sam."

"I know you are. Help's going to be here really soon, okay?"

"Sharks can bite people in half…you'd tell me if that happened, wouldn't you?" Callen asked. "If it bit me in half and my legs were gone? I'd rather know now than be surprised later."

"Yeah, I'd tell you," G…" Sam said, worried about how out of it his partner seemed and the disjointed way he was speaking. "Don't worry about it. You've still got your legs. You're going to be okay."

"Thanks for saving me, Sam," Callen murmured, no longer able to keep his eyes open. "That…that thing would have eaten me for sure if you weren't here. I wouldn't have liked that very much…"

xxxxx

Sam sat in the waiting room of the Trauma Unit trying not to think about how many times he had sat in similar waiting rooms in the past. They always seemed to have the same type of uncomfortable chairs. He really hoped this wasn't the time G's luck would run out.

"Mr. Hanna?"

"Hey, Hetty," Sam said, giving her a disheartened smile.

"No word yet, I take it?" Hetty asked as she sat down beside him.

"No…" Sam said, shaking his head. "This never should have happened, Hetty. We were done with this. We had the situation under control. Then…then that damn shark just came out of nowhere. It just got hold of him and pulled him under the water…"

Hetty couldn't help but shudder at the description of what had happened to Callen which Sam noticed at once. "I'm sorry…" he said contritely. "You don't need to hear this."

"Its fine, Mr. Hanna," Hetty said, patting his hand affectionately. "I would need to know what happened sooner or later."

"But later is probably better…after we know he's going to be okay…" Sam said.

Just then, the doctor stepped into the waiting room and walked over to them. "How is he?" Sam asked anxiously.

"He's stable right now. Due to the blood loss he sustained, he needed a transfusion. Unfortunately, his spleen has ruptured. We're going to send him up to surgery. He also has a couple of fractured ribs, but the spleen is our primary focus at the moment."

"But, he's going to be okay?" Sam asked.

"Well, with any surgery there are risks, but as long as everything goes as anticipated, he should pull through."

Sam nodded. "Okay, thank you."

"We'll be sending him up to the third floor surgical suite shortly. It will probably be a couple hours before you'll hear anything. If you can, you might want to consider giving at the blood bank. We can always use it."

"I'll do that," Sam said.

"Thank you," the doctor said with a smile. "His surgeon will be Dr. Gilbert, one of our best. Your friend is in very good hands."

Sam watched as the doctor left the room and then turned back to Hetty. So…I guess I'll head over to the blood bank. Are you going to wait?"

Hetty nodded. "Of course. I will meet you in the surgical waiting room."

"I'll see you soon, Hetty," Sam said.

xxxxx

After Sam had given blood, he decided to take a quick trip up to visit Kensi and Deeks. The handful of times he and G had visited Kensi had not gone particularly well. She had been very distant with them, making it clear that she didn't particularly want them there. Even so, he thought they ought to know about Callen's situation.

"Hey guys," Sam said, as he walked into Kensi's room. He couldn't help but notice that neither of his two young team members looked particularly happy. "How are you today?" he asked Kensi.

"I'm fine, Sam," Kensi replied, looking anything but fine. Sam glanced at Deeks who just shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"How'd the rest of the case go?" Deeks asked.

"Well, we caught the cartel guys or rather we killed them actually," Sam answered, "but…then we ran into a bit of a snag…"

"Yeah? What happened?" Deeks could tell by Sam's demeanor that the news wasn't good.

Sam ran his hand over his face and looked back at Deeks with a sigh. "It's G…they had tossed him in the water to interrogate them with their little shark technique. I managed to get there in time to stop them, but then, right when we'd wrapped it up…a shark came out of nowhere and attacked him."

Deeks was staring at Sam incredulously. "How bad?" he asked as he turned his head to look at Kensi, but she appeared to have retreated back into her own little world and was no longer listening.

"He's downstairs in surgery," Sam answered. "His spleen ruptured and they need to remove it."

"Who's in surgery?" Sam's words had broken through Kensi's wall and she looked at him with concern in her eyes. "Sam?"

"Callen…Callen's in surgery," Sam answered patiently.

"How did he rupture his spleen?" Kensi asked.

"Shark."

"A shark?" she asked, appearing visibly upset. "Is…is he going to be alright?"

Sam nodded. "He should be…barring any complications. I just wanted to let you guys know."

"Of course," she said.

"Are you alone here?" Deeks asked. "We can wait for word with you."

Sam shook his head. "No…I just went and gave at the blood bank. G already needed a transfusion. He lost a lot of blood. Hetty's downstairs so I'll wait with her. But, like I said, I just thought the two of you should know."

Deeks nodded. "Thanks, Sam…you'll keep us posted?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, I'll let you know when he's out of surgery."

"Okay," said Deeks. "I'll make sure to donate at the blood bank as well."

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Deeks. I'll talk to you guys later."

xxxxx

"You okay, baby?" Deeks asked, giving Kensi a worried look. She had looked distraught ever since Sam had left the room.

"I think we should wait with Sam and Hetty," Kensi said after a long few moments of silence.

"You do?" Deeks asked, looking at her with surprise. "I didn't think…"

"I know," Kensi said, gazing back at him. "I know you wouldn't think I would want to, but I do, Deeks. I think we should. It's where we belong."

He nodded. "Okay. Let's go down there then." He lifted Kensi into the wheelchair and after finding out exactly where they needed to go, they headed downstairs where they found Sam and Hetty waiting.

"Ms. Blye," Hetty said, smiling fondly at the young woman. "It is very good to see you, my dear. You're looking well."

"Thank you, Hetty," Kensi said, returning Hetty's smile. "It's good to see you too."

Deeks went and took a seat next to Sam. "So… a shark… really?"

"Yep," Sam said, slowly shaking his head. "It was bad, Deeks…"

"I can't even imagine that…how did he get away from it?"

Sam couldn't help but smile. "I punched it."

"Seriously?" Deeks asked grinning. "Oh man…I would have liked to have seen that…I mean, obviously not the whole Callen getting attacked part, but you beating up on a shark? I definitely would have wanted to see that."

"Yeah well…I didn't have a choice," Sam said, serious again. "That thing would have killed him."

"Callen's lucky you were there…"

Sam nodded and the two went back to silently waiting as Kensi and Hetty chatted quietly in the background.

xxxxx

"Sam Hanna?" A man wearing scrubs called as he walked into the waiting room.

"I'm Sam Hanna," Sam said, giving the man a nervous look.

"I'm Dr. Gilbert," he said, offering Sam his hand. "Mr. Callen came through the surgery just fine. He's awake from the anesthesia and they'll be transferring him to a room very soon." He glanced down at the chart he was carrying. "Room 415. It's on the general surgical floor."

Sam gave a big smile of relief which was matched by Hetty, Kensi and Deeks. "That's good news, doctor. Thank you very much."

Dr. Gilbert nodded. "You're welcome. You folks have a good night."

"We will," replied Sam, very grateful that his partner had once again managed to pull through a harrowing situation.

xxxxx

_I know Callen and Kensi wouldn't be in the same place, but I need them to be, so they are. This is going to be short, likely just a two-shot._


	2. Chapter 2

Sam and Hetty sat and quietly watched as the two men from transport effortlessly transferred Callen from the gurney to his hospital bed. His eyes were closed and he appeared extremely pale. Neither of them spoke, not wanting to wake Callen. After about 15 minutes, he began to stir, groaning softly as he shifted on the bed.

"Hey, G…how are you doing?" Sam asked softly as he stood and went to his partner's bedside.

"I feel like I went 10 rounds with a shark and someone should have called the fight in the second round, but let it go the distance," Callen replied with a slight smirk.

"That good, huh," Sam said, giving him a sympathetic look.

Callen's eyes went to Hetty who had just joined his partner by his bed. "Hey, Hetty."

Hetty took Callen's hand and grasped it tightly. "Oh, Mr. Callen, I don't know what I'm going to do with you," she said. "You gave us quite a scare."

"Gave myself one too," he admitted with a slight shudder. "I have to say, it really wasn't one of my better moments. " He turned his gaze to Sam. "Thank you, Sam…you really saved my ass."

"You're welcome," Sam said. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Callen nodded groggily. He was fighting to stay awake and it was obvious he was losing the battle. "I'm good, thanks to you."

"I'm going to go and let you get some sleep," Hetty said, seeing how wiped out he was. "I'll be back to see you tomorrow. I'm very glad you're going to be okay."

"Night, Hetty…thank you." Callen allowed his eyes to close and began to drift off.

Hetty looked up at Sam. "Are you coming?"

Sam looked at Callen and then back at Hetty. "I…I think I'm going to stay here, just for tonight…"

"I'm fine, Sam," Callen said with his eyes still closed. "Go home to your family."

Sam settled his gaze back on his partner and was able to detect the moment his breathing evened out and he knew he was asleep. "I'm going to stay with him," he said to Hetty. "Just in case…" He knew it likely wasn't necessary, but it would make him feel better.

"I understand," Hetty said, smiling up at him, thinking, not for the first time, how glad she was that these two were partners and best friends. Sam was the best thing that had ever happened to Callen. "Will you be in tomorrow?" The members of her team were dropping like flies. She hoped it wasn't the start of a trend.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there."

"Okay then, take care of yourself, Sam. I'll see you tomorrow. It's fine if you come in a bit late."

He nodded again. "Good night, Hetty."

xxxxx

"Can I get you anything?" Deeks asked Kensi, after he had gotten her settled back on her bed. She hadn't said a word since they had left Hetty and Sam, not that it was particularly odd, she didn't say much these days. He just wished she would. He missed her.

Kensi shook her head. "No thanks, Deeks."

He nodded, looking a little bit lost. "Guess Callen was pretty lucky today," Deeks commented, just to try to make conversation.

"I wouldn't exactly call him lucky," Kensi said, shaking her head. "That must have been awful for him…"

Deeks nodded. "I'm sure it was, but it could have been a lot worse. He easily could have been killed."

"I don't even want to think about that," Kensi said.

"You're right. The important thing is he's going to be okay." Deeks looked at Kensi expectantly, hoping she would say something…anything to continue the conversation, but she remained silent. Disappointed, he decided he might as well turn in for the night. The team was sorely shorthanded now. He was prepared to go in for a full day of work tomorrow. He obviously wasn't doing any good here anyway.

xxxxx

Callen slept poorly. He was in more pain than he was willing to admit and on top of that, at about 3:30 a.m., he awoke feeling nauseous. The feeling kept getting worse until he was finally forced to awaken his sleeping partner. "Sam? Sam! I think I'm going to be sick."

Sam awoke instantly and quickly found a basin in the nightstand, next to Callen's bed, which he handed to his partner just in a nick of time. Callen then proceeded to lose everything that had been in his stomach. Exhausted and miserable, he finally leaned back against the pillows as Sam buzzed for a nurse.

"I'm sorry," Callen said, glancing at his partner, looking mortified.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, G," Sam said. "It's not a big deal."

"Is for me," Callen mumbled. When he was a boy, most foster families had had very little patience for him being sick. At times, he had even been punished for it. One particularly vile foster mother had even locked him in a closet with a bucket. He had curled up in a nest he'd made out of old coats and told himself stories of happy families with parents who loved their children. Finally, hours later, she had let him out. It was a hard thing to forget.

"I have kids. This isn't anything I haven't dealt with countless times before. Forget it. I just want you to feel better."

A nurse came in then and quickly and efficiently disposed of the contents of the basin. "I'll notify the doctor," she said, giving Callen a reassuring smile. "It's likely one of your medications isn't agreeing with you. We'll get you feeling better soon."

"You should go home, Sam," Callen said, turning to his partner after the nurse had left. "At least you could get a little sleep before you have to go into work. This isn't doing you any favors."

Sam sighed heavily as he regarded his partner. "So tell me, G…if the situations were reversed, you'd be heading home right now?"

"What?" Callen tried to glare at his partner, but didn't really pull it off. He knew what he was doing. "No," he finally said.

Sam smiled. "That's what I thought. Sorry, G. You're stuck with me at least for a few more hours. Now why don't you try to get some sleep? It's the best thing for you."

Callen nodded, not really up to going against Sam, especially when deep down inside, he had to admit he found his partner's presence to be very soothing. He tried to get himself as comfortable as he could and before too long he had dropped off to sleep under Sam's watchful eye.

xxxxx

"Good morning," Deeks smiled at Kensi and bent down to give her a kiss. "How are you today?"

"Nothing's changed, Deeks," Kensi said. "I feel the same today as I did yesterday and the day before."

"Oh…" he looked at her for a long moment. "Well…maybe things will go better for you in PT today."

"Doubtful," Kensi said with a sigh. "Are you going into work? You probably should get going…"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were trying to get rid of me," he said with a forced grin. Kensi didn't answer him.

"Okay then…" She'd obviously woken up on the wrong side of the bed. He sighed to himself, once again thinking how much he missed the way their relationship used to be. He wondered if they'd ever get that back. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Bye," Kensi replied absently. Then, almost as an afterthought she added, "have a good day."

"Yeah…you too…" His blue eyes filled with sadness, Deeks gave her one last look then headed off to work.

xxxxx

"Come on, look at that kid. He's obviously yours," Callen said. His eyes were glued to an episode of Maury Povich on the television as he ate a cup of Italian ice.

"In the case of 2-year-old Henry, Andre you are the father!" Maury shouted gleefully as the studio audience went wild.

"Ha! I knew it," Callen said with a self-satisfied smirk as he took another spoonful of the frozen treat.

"Really Callen? Maury Povich?" Kensi asked as she wheeled herself into his room, a look of amusement on her face.

He shrugged as he smiled at her. "Good morning, Kens…Not much else on. Trust me, I've looked. How are you doing?" He was happy to see her. The time had been passing extremely slowly since Sam had left him a couple of hours ago.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she asked, not particularly wanting to talk about herself. "I can't believe you got into it with a shark."

"Not by choice. He wouldn't take no for an answer. Thank God for Sam, that's all I can say," he replied.

"But seriously…are you doing okay?" Kensi asked, eyeing him closely.

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "I'm feeling pretty good today actually."

"That's good," Kensi said. "Is there anything you need? I could get you something to read. There's a newsstand and gift shop on the first floor."

"No, that's okay," he said, shaking his head. "Sam is coming back later and he's bringing my laptop. I just hope I can get him to go home tonight."

"He stayed with you last night?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah, but I kept him up half the night. He needs to be home with Michelle and Kamran getting a good night's sleep tonight."

Kensi nodded and suddenly felt a pang of guilt that Deeks had been staying with her almost constantly. Callen must have understood that from the look on her face. "Hey Kens…I didn't mean anything by that. Trust me, Deeks is thinking about you all the time. The guy's crazy about you. We couldn't keep him away from here if we tried."

"So, what have you been doing with yourself, besides watching bad t.v.?" Kensi asked, abruptly changing the subject to something other than Deeks.

"Nothing. They let me get up and walk to the bathroom so that was good." He stopped, immediately realizing what he'd said as he felt his cheeks flush. Damn. "I…I'm sorry, Kensi," he said, shaking his head. "I…I don't know what's wrong with me today."

She bit her lip, not looking at him. "Don't be silly. I'm sure it did feel good to get out of bed and walk…not that I'd know, but…" She felt tears starting to form and blinked them back furiously. She wasn't going to cry, not here in front of him.

"Kensi…look at me," Callen said, feeling horrible about his blunder.

"Its fine, Callen," she said, managing to get her emotions under control again as she looked back at him. "Please don't worry about it."

"No wonder you don't want us visiting you," he mumbled, feeling like a prize jerk. "I don't blame you…"

"What?" she asked, giving him a stunned look. "I… Why would you think that?"

"I don't know…" he said, shrugging his shoulders. God…she was never going to come back again after this visit. "It just didn't seem like you did…"

"Oh…"she stared down at her lap, knowing that he was right in his assumption, but she didn't think she had been so obvious about it. She suddenly felt like the walls were closing in on her and she really needed to get out of there. "I have to go, Callen," she said, speaking very quickly. "I…I forgot, I have to go to PT. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Kensi…wait, please don't go!" Callen pleaded, watching as she turned her wheelchair around and basically fled from the room. He sighed heavily, feeling very upset with himself. He had managed to botch that in tremendous fashion.


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning, Deeks," Sam greeted his younger teammate as Deeks made his way into the bullpen.

"Hey, Sam, how's it going? How's Callen?" Deeks asked as he took a seat at his desk.

"He had a bit of a rough night, but he's doing okay," Sam said, looking back at Deeks. As usual, the younger man looked exhausted. It seemed to be an ongoing theme these days. "How are you?"

Deeks shrugged. "I'm good…you know how it is…"

Sam nodded. "Kensi?"

"Kensi…I don't know…" Deeks said, shaking his head. "We'll see what the day brings, I guess. "

"Gentlemen." Hetty made her way into the bullpen and observed her two remaining agents closely. Sam outwardly appeared to be holding his own while Deeks, on the other hand, looked very tired. She was afraid he was going to get sick if he didn't start to get more rest. She had to wonder if he was eating properly. She turned toward Sam. "Mr. Hanna, how is your partner doing?"

"He seemed to be doing okay when I left him," Sam stated. "He didn't get a lot of sleep though."

"Which means you didn't either," Hetty stated. "I think today is a day to catch up on paperwork unless something really pressing comes up. Also, lunch is going to be delivered today so don't worry about getting yourselves anything." At the very least, she was going to make sure they had a proper meal. She wasn't so much worried about Sam, but she couldn't help but be concerned about Deeks.

Sam sighed to himself. It sounded like it was going to be a very boring day. He exchanged a long look with Deeks and then began to prepare himself for a long day of paperwork.

xxxxx

Kensi replayed the conversation with Callen in her head as she wheeled herself back to her room. She was feeling pretty badly for the way she had just bolted out of there, but she had really needed to get away. She would go back to see him later, after her afternoon PT session. When she got back to her room, she spent some time reading and then her lunch was brought in. After eating, she wheeled herself down to PT. Her effort was there, but unfortunately, the results were no different than any other day. "I know you're frustrated that you're not seeing more progress, Kensi," the physical therapist said, "but you just need to keep at it. Patience and perseverance are key."

Kensi just nodded and kept working. She desperately hoped that one day soon, her efforts would pay off.

xxxxx

Callen tried to focus his attention back on the television after Kensi left, but found it was impossible to do so. He basically sat there doing nothing, watching as his Italian ice slowly melted and became Italian water. The doctor had told him he was to remain on clear liquids until the following day. He was fine with that, not particularly wanting a repeat of his nighttime vomiting episode. Hospitals were really no fun at all. As soon as that thought entered his head, he immediately felt guilty though. He hadn't even been here for 24 hours and already he was chomping at the bit to leave. Kensi had been here for ages. He could only imagine how she felt about it. He tried to get back into watching television, but wasn't particularly in the mood. Finally, not wanting to be a bother, but unable to help himself, he picked up the phone and dialed his partner.

"Hey, G," Sam said, glancing at the caller ID before he put his cell phone up to his ear. He couldn't say he was surprised to hear from him. He was impressed he'd waited this long. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay," Callen replied. "How are things there? Anything exciting happening?"

"Nope. Hetty has us playing paperwork catchup," Sam said. "You're not missing much."

"If you get really bored," Callen began. "I've got some paperwork you could work on. It's in that file over…well, you know where it is."

Sam scoffed. "Unlikely, G."

Callen laughed. "Well it was worth a try. I thought you might take pity on your poor shark bitten partner."

"Sorry, buddy. I'll be by to see you later. Do you want me to bring you anything else besides your laptop? Anything to eat?"

"No thanks. I'm not allowed to have any real food until tomorrow anyway. Just you and the laptop will be good."

"Okay, G. Hang in there and don't give the nurses a hard time. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, I'll see you, Sam." He clicked off his phone and leaned back into the pillows with a bored sigh. A short time after that, his lunch was delivered. It was mainly a repeat of the clear liquid items that had been brought in at breakfast time. He drank some of the clear broth and tasted the tea, but quickly abandoned that, thinking how Hetty would be appalled at the tasteless concoction. He then started on his second Italian ice of the day. Both times he had gotten lemon flavored ice. He vaguely wondered if they had any other flavors or if he would get lemon at dinner as well. He picked up one of the magazines, a sympathetic nurse had brought him earlier, but he felt somewhat lethargic and after looking through a few pages, tossed it aside. Then, feeling the onset of chills, he pulled the blankets up more tightly around his body and decided to try to take a nap.

xxxxx

"So why do you think Hetty sprang for the fancy lunch?" Deeks asked Sam, looking at the complete meal spread out over his desk, Italian bread, salad and stuffed shells. There was even rich-looking chocolate cake for dessert.

"I think she's trying to keep the rest of her team out of the hospital," Sam said with a grin as he took the cover off his salad container. "She's going out of her way to make sure we're eating properly."

"Oh…" Deeks said as he took his fork and absently played with the salad.

"You'd better eat it, Deeks," Sam said, his eyes on the other man. "You know Hetty will find out if you don't."

"How? Because you'll tell her?" Deeks asked, looking a little bit perturbed as he glanced over at the other man.

"No, Mr. Deeks, because I have other methods of finding things out," Hetty said, breaking into the conversation, seeming to come out of nowhere. Sam smiled and resumed eating his salad as Deeks turned to see his diminutive boss standing next to him with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

"Hello, Hetty," Deeks said, giving her his most charming smile. "Did I tell you how lovely you look today?"

"Oh Mr. Deeks, while I'm sure your numerous charms work wonders for you, do not waste them on me. I'm impervious to them. I expect you to eat this lunch or we're going to have another discussion about you taking time off and this time I will not be swayed."

"I never said I wasn't going to eat this, Hetty," Deeks defended himself as he took a healthy bite of a stuffed shell, chewed and swallowed it. "You see? Delicious."

"Hmm…" Hetty looked at Deeks skeptically. "I'll trust that you're going to eat that…and I'll also trust that if you don't, Mr. Hanna will notify me of that fact. Is that clear, Mr. Hanna?"

Sam nodded. "I'll let you know if he doesn't eat, Hetty." He ignored Deeks' glare as he resumed eating his own lunch. "Though he'd be crazy not to want to eat every bit of this delicious meal. We really appreciate you doing this for us."

Deeks rolled his eyes at Sam's words as Hetty left them and went back to her office. "Really, Sam?" he asked. "I'd say you were laying it on a bit thick with the food praise."

Sam shook his head and looked at Deeks seriously. "Hetty's worried about you, Deeks," he said. "We all are. If I can do something to make sure you're taking care of yourself even a little bit better, I'm going to do it."

Deeks stared at Sam for a long moment and then just nodded as he began to slowly eat his meal.

xxxxx

Kensi wheeled herself down the corridor, on her way to Callen's room. She wasn't quite sure what she was going to say to him, but she would figure something out. She wasn't happy with the way things had ended between them earlier and she was pretty sure he would be unhappy with what had happened as well. When she got to his room, she paused in the doorway. Dr. Gilbert and a nurse were standing over Callen's bed. As she got closer, Kensi couldn't hide her concern. Callen was tossing and turning fretfully. "What happened?" she asked. "He wasn't like this earlier today. He seemed to be doing so well."

Dr. Gilbert nodded. "He spiked a fever early this afternoon. I'm hopeful it's just a result of the traumatic effect on his body from the shark attack and the subsequent surgery. I haven't seen any evidence of an infection. In any case, I'm sending down blood cultures to see if they show anything."

"Well, should I call Sam?" Kensi asked worriedly. "Should he be here?"

Dr. Gilbert shook his head. "Of course that's your choice, but if you're asking me if it's necessary, I don't think so. Hopefully, his temperature will come down soon. It hasn't gone up any more since the initial spike. Right now, he's just exhausted and very uncomfortable.

"Okay," Kensi said, nodding. She was still worried, but she was willing to take the doctor at his word. "Is it alright for me to sit with him?"

"By all means," Dr. Gilbert said, smiling at her. "I'm sure your presence will be comforting to him."

Kensi wasn't all that sure of that, but she certainly wasn't going to leave Callen alone when he was feeling so poorly. The doctor finished giving his instructions to the nurse and then said goodbye after promising to return later in the day. Callen was mostly just quiet except for his occasional soft murmurs, but then he grew distressed. "Sam, help me!" he called out. "I can't get away, he's pulling me under. He's biting me in half!"

Kensi reached for Callen's hand and held it as she gently talked to him. "Callen? It's Kensi…I'm right here with you. Everything's okay. It's just a dream. You're safe. Shh…you're going to be okay." She kept talking to him, softly reassuring him until finally he calmed down and settled into a more peaceful sleep.

She just sat quietly, watching Callen's steady breathing and then began to talk to him in a low, soothing tone. "You know how you said that you didn't think I wanted you to visit me? Well…you were right, Callen. But it wasn't just you. I didn't want to see anyone. Not you, not Sam, not Hetty or Granger or Eric or Nell…not even Deeks, but Deeks…Deeks refuses to take no for an answer, no matter how hard I try to push him away. Sometimes, I'm horrible to him, Callen. I see that look in his eyes, and I know I'm breaking his heart, and I tell myself not to treat him that way…that he doesn't deserve it, but then I go ahead and do it anyway. I don't know why…I can't seem to stop myself… One of these days I'm going to drive him away permanently…"

"It's okay, baby…No matter what you say, I love you and I'm not going anywhere…"

Kensi turned and gave a stricken look at Deeks who was standing in the doorway, holding a laptop bag and looking at her with his blue eyes filled with emotion. "What are you doing here?" she asked softly as she tightened her grasp on Callen's hand, almost as if she was hanging on to a lifeline.

"Sam is staying a little bit late…he's finishing up Callen's paperwork so he asked if I'd bring him his laptop although… it doesn't look like he'll be needing it," he said, looking at Callen.

Kensi shook her head. "No…not tonight anyway," she said.

"Is he alright?"

"I hope so…he spiked a fever earlier…he seems better now though…at least he's resting easier."

Deeks nodded. "Well…Sam should be here soon and then…I don't know, maybe we should go back to your room and talk?"

Kensi hesitated as she looked back at Deeks but then slowly nodded. "Okay…I guess maybe we should…"


	4. Chapter 4

Kensi and Deeks sat quietly, watching over Callen as he slept. The only sounds were the beeps from the monitor showing Callen's vital signs and his occasional soft murmurs as he tossed and turned restlessly. About an hour after Deeks had gotten there, Sam finally arrived. "Hi," he said, looking a little bit surprised. "I didn't expect to see you guys here." He looked at his partner and immediately appeared concerned. "Is he okay?" he asked softly, walking to Callen's bedside.

He spiked a fever earlier," Kensi explained softly. "I asked the doctor if I should contact you, but, he didn't think it was really necessary. I've been sitting with him. I think he may be a bit better. His temperature hasn't gone up at all anyway…"

Sam looked at Kensi then back at his partner, not looking particularly happy with this latest development. "I talked to him this morning…he sounded fine then…"

Kensi nodded. "I was in to see him before lunch…he was okay then too." She didn't think anything would be gained by telling Sam how their visit had concluded.

Sam didn't respond to what she said and Kensi and Deeks exchanged an uncomfortable glance. "I guess I should get Kensi back to her room…" Deeks finally said after a couple minutes of silence, assuming Sam would rather be alone.

Deeks' words broke Sam out of his silent reverie. "Yeah…okay…" He directed his attention to Kensi. "Thank you for staying with him…"

"Of course…I'll be back to see him tomorrow," she said.

"We'll check in with you later," Deeks said. "Do you need anything before we go?"

Sam shook his head. "No thanks. I'm good. Hetty should be here soon to visit him." He sighed softly, knowing she would be expecting him to be improved just as he had. He certainly hadn't expected him to have taken a turn for the worse.

Deeks nodded. "Let me know if there's anything I can do," he said. "I'm just a couple of floors away."

"Okay," Sam said with a nod. "Thanks guys…" He watched them as they headed out of the room and he then sat in the chair next to Callen's bed and began to keep watch over his partner.

xxxxx

Deeks pushed Kensi out of Callen's room, relieved when she didn't protest his assistance. They didn't speak until they got back to her room when he lifted her onto the bed and she quietly thanked him.

"You're welcome." He smiled and sat down on the chair next to her. "Are you hungry?"

She glanced over at the dome-covered dinner which had been delivered while she was out of the room and shook her head.

"I wasn't talking about that," Deeks said, lifting the lid and peering underneath it. "I'm not really even sure what this is. It could be chicken or it could just be some kind of undefinable goop formed into a weird-looking patty."

Kensi smiled but only for an instance. "Sam looked really upset…I guess I was wrong not calling him sooner."

"You weren't wrong, Kens," Deeks said, shaking his head. "You were just doing what the doctor told you to do. In any case, Callen isn't any worse. His fever could break at any time."

She nodded. "I hope so…" She sighed then met Deeks' eyes. "This really wasn't a very good day…I'm sorry about this morning. I wasn't very nice to you."

Deeks shrugged. "It's okay. I know you've been having a rough time. I understand."

Kensi shook her head. "Don't do that, Deeks."

"What?" he asked, looking confused. "Do what? What did I do wrong?"

"You let me off the hook for everything… I haven't been treating you well. You've been bending over backwards for me…staying here with me almost every night, going out of your way to get me food and treats that I like, exhausting yourself. I haven't been very appreciative of anything you've done. I sulk and push you away and still you're here, acting like none of it matters…"

"I love you, Kensi," Deeks said , gazing at her. "I just want you to be well and happy."

"Sam stayed here with Callen last night and Callen was worried about him, worried that he didn't get enough rest. We have a dangerous job, Deeks. You're exhausted. I can see it. You're not getting the proper rest that you need. You could get hurt…or something even worse…" Kensi's eyes were filled with tears as she spoke to him, her voice thick with emotion. "I've been so selfish…I'm so sorry…"

"You're not selfish. You just have a lot on your plate."

Kensi shook her head. "That's no excuse."

"I'm fine, baby," Deeks took Kensi's hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it. "I promise you I am. I can take it."

"You shouldn't have to take it," Kensi insisted, shaking her head. "I want you to go home tonight and get a good night's rest."

"Tonight's not the night for that," Deeks said solemnly. "Sam might need me. I told him I'd be here. I'm not going to leave…I have to be here…just in case…"

"You think something bad is going to happen to Callen?" Kensi asked, obviously upset.

"No. I don't think that. I think he'll be fine. Like I said, just in case…"

xxxxx

"So this is what happens when I go to work for a few hours and leave you here alone, G?" Sam asked quietly. He somehow felt like if he had just stayed with Callen that this wouldn't have happened. He knew it was an entirely irrational thought, but he couldn't seem to get it out of his head.

"What seems to be the trouble, Mr. Hanna?" Hetty asked as she stepped into the room.

Sam sighed heavily. "G hasn't been doing well for the last few hours, Hetty. He spiked a fever and he hasn't woken up since."

"Try not to be so pessimistic," Hetty said as she gently patted Sam's shoulder and then sat in the other empty chair. "I choose to think this is just his body's way of fighting hard against what happened. He'll wake up when he's ready."

Sam nodded. His stomach was churning and his mind was still full of negative thoughts, but he saw no reason to bring Hetty down with him. "Hopefully, you're right."

"So, how did Mr. Deeks do this afternoon?" Hetty asked. "Did he eat his lunch as he promised?"

"Yeah, he ate," Sam said with a grin. "I think he was too afraid not to."

"Good, good," Hetty said nodding. "The two of you need to take care of yourselves. I don't want to be worrying about you and Mr. Deeks in addition to Mr. Callen and Ms. Blye."

"You definitely don't have to worry about me, Hetty," Sam said. "I don't know about Deeks though..."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do your best to look after him," Hetty stated.

"Of course," Sam said nodding, but to Hetty, it was obvious that he was no longer really focused on their conversation. Sam's thoughts were with his partner.

xxxxx

"You feel like some ice cream?" Deeks asked. He had gone out and picked up a pizza for dinner, but oddly, he found himself to still be hungry.

"No, not really," Kensi said. "I really think you should try to turn in early for a change."

"I'm still too wound up to sleep," Deeks said. "Maybe I'll try in a little while."

"Why don't you just call Sam?" Kensi suggested.

"I don't know," Deeks said uncertainly. "I don't want to bother him."

"Then just go to Callen's room."

Deeks briefly considered both options before he pulled out his cell phone and pressed Sam's speed dial button.

"Hey Deeks," Sam answered the phone on the first ring.

"Hi Sam…we were just wondering if there's any change?"

"No…no change."

Deeks could hear the discouragement in Sam's voice. "He'll be okay, Sam," he said, trying to reassure the other man.

"I hope so…"

"Maybe you should try to get some rest…worrying yourself sick isn't going to help him any." Deeks felt like a hypocrite even saying the words. He had spent countless sleepless nights worrying about Kensi.

"Yeah, I'll try Deeks. I'll talk to you guys in the morning."

Deeks heard Sam hang up and then clicked off his own phone. "No change," he informed Kensi who looked unhappy upon hearing the news.

"I hope he's going to be alright…" She gazed at Deeks, looking close to tears. "Deeks? Will you…will you please hold me?" she questioned softly.

"Really?" he asked. When she nodded, he carefully got onto the bed beside her and wrapped his arm around her.

"God, I've missed this," Deeks said as Kensi leaned into him and he held her tightly. "You have no idea…"

"I think I do," she whispered, just relishing the closeness between them.

xxxxx

Throughout the night, Sam kept dozing off and then would wake up feeling anxious. Once awake, he would check on Callen and when he established that his partner was stable, he would fall back asleep and then the cycle would repeat itself. When Sam awoke at 4:30 a.m., he found that Callen's temperature had dropped down two full degrees and by 6:00 a.m. it was down to 99. Sam was debating on whether or not to wake his partner when Dr. Gilbert came in and took the decision out of his hands. "Hello, Sam," the doctor greeted him as he looked at the vital signs on the monitor and gave a satisfied nod as he made notations in Callen's chart.

"Hi, doc," Sam replied. "I see G's temperature is almost back to normal."

The doctor nodded. "Yes, a very good sign. I think it's about time Mr. Callen woke up, don't you?"

Sam nodded. "I think that's a very good idea."

"Mr. Callen? Mr. Callen, time to wake up," Dr. Gilbert said.

Callen groaned softly as the doctor's voice broke through his dreams and he started to awaken.

"Come on, sleeping beauty. You've been asleep long enough, wake up," Sam said, gently shaking Callen's shoulder.

Finally, Callen managed to respond fully. He opened his eyes and gazed drowsily at the doctor and Sam. "Hi…what's going on?"

"Good to see you awake again, Mr. Callen," Dr. Gilbert said. "You spiked a rather high fever yesterday afternoon, but it finally broke and you seem to be doing much better. We took a set of blood cultures which haven't shown grown any organisms yet, which is also a positive indication. How are you feeling?"

"I'm actually kind of hungry," Callen said after considering the doctor's question.

"That's definitely a good sign," Dr. Gilbert said with a smile. "I'll see that you get some breakfast. How's your pain level?"

Callen took a quick mental inventory of his symptoms and then looked back at Dr. Gilbert. "I feel pretty good."

Dr. Gilbert nodded. "Good, very good. I'll be in to check on you again later today. You take it easy. You can take short walks but nothing too strenuous. Don't overdo it. You don't want another setback."

"I'll take it easy," Callen said. "Thanks, doctor."

Dr. Gilbert left the room and Sam and Callen were left alone. Callen looked at his partner curiously when he just sat silently. "Cat got your tongue?" Callen asked, finding that he was becoming defensive when Sam still didn't speak. "What? This wasn't my fault, Sam. I didn't do anything I wasn't supposed to."

Callen's words caught Sam's attention and jolted him out of his reverie. "What?" he asked then shook his head. "Sorry, G…I wasn't paying attention. I know this wasn't your fault."

"What's going on with you?" Callen asked.

"Nothing…Nothing, G," Sam said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just tired."

"You should go home, Sam," Callen said. "Tell Hetty you're going in late and sleep for a few hours. I'm good. Seriously…go…"

Usually, Sam would have just ignored his partner, but he was pretty much exhausted and not feeling like himself. The lure of his comfortable bed at home was too tempting to resist. "Alright…you sure you're okay?"

Callen nodded, surprised but pleased that Sam was actually going to do as he suggested. "I'm fine. Go."

Sam stood up and slowly stretched out his muscles then bent down and picked up Callen's laptop bag and placed it on his bed. "Here's your laptop. If you need anything else, give me a call later on and I'll bring it."

"Thank you" Callen said. "Go get some sleep, Sam."

Sam nodded. "I'll be back after work, G…I'm really glad you're doing okay."

xxxxx

"That's good news…thanks for letting me know, Sam." Deeks clicked off his phone and looked at Kensi, smiling. "Callen's fever broke. He's doing much better."

"Oh that's great," Kensi said, giving a sigh of relief. "I was really worried."

"I was pretty worried myself," Deeks admitted. "But it seems like he's turned the corner now so hopefully, everything will be fine."

"I'll go look in on him a little later," Kensi said.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that," Deeks said. "I think I'm going to head home to shower and spend a little time with Monty before work. Sam said he's going in late and Hetty said for me to do the same. Anything particular you want for dinner tonight?"

"Why don't you check with Sam," Kensi suggested. "Maybe we can all have dinner together?"

"That's a great idea, princess," Deeks said, smiling as he kissed her. "I'll see you later. Have a good day."

"Bye Deeks. Please be careful and give my love to Monty."

"He already knows you love him, Kensalina," Deeks said, grinning at her, "but I'll remind him anyhow."

xxxxx

Callen dozed off again after Sam left and woke when his breakfast tray was delivered. He demolished the breakfast of slightly runny eggs, toast and cereal and then fell back asleep. The next time time he awoke, Kensi was sitting by his bedside. "Hi," he said. He was surprised to see her there, but when he really thought about it, he realized that he shouldn't be surprised.

"How are you feeling?" Kensi asked softly. "You gave us a bit of a scare."

"I'm much better," Callen replied. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"That's good…" He smoothed the blankets over his legs, feeling a little bit awkward. "So…I'm sorry about the other day…" He wasn't sure what day that had been. Was it just yesterday? He really didn't know. His sense of time was a little bit off.

"Oh Callen, you don't have anything to be sorry about," Kensi said. "I'm sorry I made you feel that you did."

He shook his head. "I was kind of insensitive."

"No, you really weren't…I was just being overly sensitive. In any case, let's just forget about it, okay? The important thing is that you're doing better now."

"The important thing is that we're both doing better," he corrected.

"And that it's almost time for Maury," Kensi said with a grin.

"That's really an important thing?" he asked, smiling back at her.

"You've got to take your entertainment where you can get it in this place," Kensi said. "Trust me on that."

"I do trust you, Kens…" Callen said, his eyes serious. "Always have and always will."

She smiled at his words and then grew serious herself. "I had a talk with Deeks…a good talk. I think…I think things are going to be better going forward."

Callen nodded. "That's good, just don't push it and try not to be discouraged. It's not going to happen for you overnight."

"I know that," Kensi said. "But I also realize I have a lot of support and I'm going to lean on you guys when I need to."

"We've got pretty strong backs for that," Callen said and then grinned. "Well, Sam does anyhow. Not so sure about me at the moment."

"That's okay. I'll take it easy on you, at least until you get out of this place." She glanced down at her cell phone in her lap and saw the time. "Time for Maury."

Callen picked up the remote and turned on the television set. "I don't remember what channel it's on," he said as he started to scan through the channels. "I wonder if it's another who's your daddy show…"

"Those are like 90 percent of his shows," Kensi said, laughing. "Care to make a wager?"

"On who the daddies are?" Callen asked, smiling. "I don't think I have any money here."

"We don't have to bet money," Kensi said, as she tried to think of a suitable prize. "I know! The winner can pick dinner tonight. I suggested to Deeks that we all have dinner together later. I'm pretty sure they'll let us pick."

"I can go for a nice steak," Callen said. "With a baked potato." He was already feeling hungry again and couldn't help but wonder what they were going to bring him for lunch and what time it would arrive.

"Sorry, but I think you'll be having seafood."

"Most seafood places have some kind of steak dish for those people who don't want fish," Callen commented. "But, in any case, I'm pretty good at telling if these guys are the fathers or not. So, I'll probably be choosing the restaurant."

"Shh…" Kensi said, her attention on the show which was just starting. Her eyes lit up when she saw that it was indeed another who's the daddy show. "Okay, Callen…let's put our powers of observation to the test and see if we can figure these out.

All signs of awkwardness gone, the two friends shared a smile and focused their attention on the television to begin their good-natured competition.


End file.
